CROSSOVER YOUTH PREVENTION: PREDICTORS OF YOUTH CROSSOVER FROM CHILD WELFARE TO JUVENILE JUSTICE
Abstract
By some estimates, as many as 60% of youth in the juvenile justice system have previous experience in the child welfare system, with delinquency rates among youth in foster care about 50% higher than among youth not involved in foster care (Ryan & Testa, 2005; Sickmund & Puzzanchera, 2014). Identifying factors that impact crossing over from the child protective system into the juvenile justice system is essential to developing interventions targeting youth success and derailing the criminal pathway of many United States adolescents. Decades of research have shown that youth who enter foster care are at an increased risk for future involvement in the juvenile justice system (Barth, 1990; Dannerbeck-Janku & Jahui, 2010; English et al., 2002; Lee & Villagrana, 2015; Ryan, 2012). Despite this, most research has focused on what to do with foster youth once they are in the juvenile justice system, rather than how to identify them before they become involved in the juvenile justice system (Herz & Ryan, 2008). Furthermore, most studies occur at the local or state level as reflected in the literature review below. This dissertation, however, will combine two national data sets to help identify youth most at risk to cross from the foster care system to the juvenile justice system.